It can’t be more obvious that the New Orleans Saints need to make some changes during their bye week. They’re lucky to have a 5-5 record and sit on top of the worst division in pro football; the weak NFC South is all that’s keeping them in the playoff picture.
So what adjustments can they make? They can start by making bigger roles for these five players after the bye week:
WR Rashid Shaheed
There are some limitations to Shaheed’s game as a 6-foot-0, 180-pound receiver; he isn’t going to be running the same routes and playing in the same down-and-distance situations as the 6-foot-3, 212-pound Thomas. But the Saints should go his way more often. He’s been targeted just 50 times through the first 10 games, trailing behind Chris Olave (94), Thomas (64), and Alvin Kamara (56). Derek Carr has been too panicky in checking the ball down to Kamara without hope of a first down conversion. He’s also airmailed too many passes to Olave downfield. With Thomas on the mend and the offense hurting for big plays, Shaheed should see an uptick in targets.
TE Juwan Johnson
Johnson has been an afterthought this season, which is very surprising given all the momentum he had behind him this summer. He signed a contract extension after breaking out with 42 receptions for 508 yards and 7 touchdown catches last season, averaging a respectable 31.8 yards per game. Derek Carr had great success working with a similar receiving tight end in Darren Waller on the Raiders. But Johnson’s stock has plummeted. He missed four games with a calf injury and went into the bye week with just 97 yards on the season. With Carr struggling to end drives with touchdowns and generate big gains through the air, targeting Johnson must be a point of emphasis down the stretch.
QB Taysom Hill
Hill is averaging more snaps on offense per game this year (29.8) than last season (20.4), but the Saints don’t have the best plan for using him as a runner. Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael likes to wait until he’s gotten a lead to roll out Hill’s package of rushing plays — 29 of Hill’s 50 carries have come when the Saints are tied or leading. But Hill is very effective even when they’re trailing: he’s averaging 5.6 yards per carry when the Saints are behind this season, and that extends to his career, where he’s averaged 7.1 yards per carry when trailing. They shouldn’t wait too long to call his number. Give him more looks with Kendre Miller managing another injury.
DT Malcolm Roach
Roach has been one of the Saints’ most active defenders in the interior line rotation; he’s already logged 29 tackles after totaling 26 a year ago, and he has more tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage (9) than his teammates Bryan Bresee (7), Nathan Shepherd (5), and Khalen Saunders (2). But Roach plays the fewest snaps out of that group (233), which is led by Shepherd (345). The Saints invested a lot in Shepherd’s contract as a veteran free agent signing, but Roach is more disruptive and should see a heavier workload coming out of the bye.
DE Tanoh Kpassagnon
Kpassagnon is already playing plenty snaps — his 220 reps at defensive end are third-most on the team behind Cameron Jordan (547) and Carl Granderson (523). And he’s playing well enough as Jordan’s backup on the left side of the line with 20 quarterback pressures at Pro Football Focus, most of them hurries, posting a pass rush win rate of 13.2%, just between Jordan (13.3%) and Granderson (13.0%). But it’s time the Saints acknowledge that they aren’t doing Jordan any favors by asking him to play so many snaps at his age. Kpassagnon can help shoulder that load and keep Jordan fresh late in games. So can Jason Pierre-Paul. If resting Jordan a little more often helps him produce higher-quality snaps, the tradeoff is worth it.
